Seoul:South Korea has pledged to maintain close collaboration with the United States administration and Congress to address essential bilateral economic and trade issues, despite recent changes in congressional control, as stated by the foreign ministry on Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Democratic Party's victory in gaining control of both chambers of Congress in the recent midterm elections has posed a significant challenge to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon emphasized the country's commitment to ongoing consultations with both the U.S. administration and Congress. These efforts aim to ensure the smooth progress of South Korean companies' investment activities in the U.S. Park also highlighted the government's intention to strengthen the bilateral alliance into a "future-oriented comprehensive strategic alliance" through active communication with U.S. leaders, including congressional leaders, key committee members, newly elected lawmakers, and Korean American members of Congress.
The recent election outcomes have led to concerns in Seoul regarding potential impacts on key bilateral issues, such as nuclear fuel-cycle cooperation, South Korea's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines, and Korean investments in the U.S. Despite these concerns, there has been limited progress in implementing critical security commitments from a joint fact sheet released in November last year, following the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and President Donald Trump.
Under the summit agreements, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to explore expanding South Korea's rights to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel under the 123 Agreement. Additionally, Washington approved Seoul's plan to develop nuclear-powered attack submarines and pledged collaboration to meet project requirements, including fuel sourcing. However, follow-up consultations have been slow, with the inaugural working-level meeting postponed until June in Seoul and a second round yet to be scheduled.
Some analysts suggest that President Trump's diminished political influence could introduce uncertainties to the process, particularly as some commitments, such as those on nuclear-powered submarines, arose from political agreements between the two leaders. Nonetheless, a foreign ministry official assured that communication channels between the two governments remain active, citing the summit between Lee and Trump at the U.N. General Assembly in September. The official reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to advancing working-level discussions on bilateral security consultations as swiftly as possible.